>oooooooooooo 006000 


YAKIMA  ANDCLICKITAT 

INDIAN  AVARS, 


-^1855  AND  1856. 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS 


CAPT.  U.   E.  HICKS 


_°-P.  o.o_Q_o_o_o_o_g_o_o_o_o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o 


ooococooc  o  o  o_o^  c_o  o  o  o  o  o  o  6~o~o 


.WES  THE  PRINTER,  PORTLAND. 


[To  be  filed  in  the  Archives  of  Multiiomah  Camp  No.  2,  Indian  War  Veter 
ans  of  the  Northwest.] 


RECOLLECTIOHS!^ 

—OF— 

CAPT.  U.  E.  HICKS. 


SCENES,  INCIDENTS,  DANGERS  AND  HARDSHIPS 

ENDURED  DURING  THE 

YAKIMA  AND  CLICKITAT  INDIAN  WAR, 

1855  and  1856. 


I  was  residing  on  a  donation  land  claim,  on  Chambers'  Prairie, 
five  miles  east  of  Olympia,  Washington  Territory,  in  the  fall  of 
1855.  News  had  been  received  that  the  Indians  east  of  the  Cas 
cade  mountains  had  murdered  Sub-Indian  Agent  Bolan  and 
several  gold-hunters  en  route  to  the  Colville  mines,  among  whom 
were  one  or  two.  well-known  residents  of  Olympia. 

No  one  at  that  time  had  any  fear  of  the  Indians  west  of  the 
mountains.  They  were  generally  regarded  as  a  cowardly  fish- 
eating,  root  and  clam-digging  race,  with  the  instincts  of  a  cayote 
and  the  habits  of  a  beast.  Strong  drink  and  the  small-pox  was 
fast  destroying  the  males,  while  a  worse  fate  had  overtaken  the 
females.  They  fell  an  easXy  prey  to  the  vices  of  the  white  man, 
while  imitating  few  of  his  virtues. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  still  held  their  forts  and  trading 
posts  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  although  it  was  gen 
erally  believed  their  agents  and  former  employes  were  inimical 
to  the  settlement  of  the  country  by  the  American  or  "Boston  " 
immigrants,  still  they  were  not  seriously  suspected  as  being  en 
gaged  in  arming  the  Indians,  or  secretly  favoring  an  outbreak. 
They,  however,  held  the  larger  share  of  the  Indian  trade,  and  as 
many  of  their  employes  had  taken  up  with  Indian  wives,  the 
savages  naturally  looked  to  them— or  the  "King  George"  men — 
as  their  best  friends.  Large  numbers  of  Hudson's  Bay  muskets, 
balls  and  powder  had  been  traded  to  the  Indians,  and  a  common 
community  of  interests  was  apparent  between  them. 

The  American  white  population  of  the  Sound  country  at  that 
time  was,  perhaps,  not  much  above  5,000 ;  while  the  Indian  pop- 


illation  was  variously  estimated  at  from  12,000  to  20,000.  Perhaps 
not  one  white  man  in  five  possessed  a  gun  or  fire-arm  of  any 
kind.  The  game  of  the  country  was  principally  deer  and  fowl, 
and  the  Indians  did  most  of  the  hunting. 

Governor  Isaac  I.  Stevens  had  called  for  several  companies  of 
volunteers,  forming  the  1st  Regiment,  to  act  in  conjunction  with 
the  small  force  of  regular  soldiers  then  stationed  at  the  several 
military  posts  in  Washington  Territory,  and  the  volunteer  forces 
of  Oregon,  for  the  purpose  of  quelling  the  outbreak  east  of  the 
mountains,  and  had  proceeded  in  person  to  the  hostile  country, 
leaving  Secretary  C.  H.  Mason  in  charge  as  acting-Governor  dur 
ing  his  absence.  Maj.  James  Tilton,  Surveyor-General  of  the 
Territory,  was  commissioned  Adjutant  General  of  volunteers. 

A  company  was  formed  in  Olyrnpia,  mounted  and  equipped, 
under  command  of  Judge  Gilmore  Hays.  This  company,  which 
had  pretty  well  drained  that  neighborhood  of  spare  men,  horses 
and  guns,  had  joined  with  the  U.  S.  troops  from  Fort  Steilacoom, 
and  perhaps  one  or  two  other  small  companies  from  further  down 
the  Sound,  and  were  on  their  way  over  the  mountains,  when  a 
runner,  by  the  name  of  "  Bill  Tidd,"  came  in  from  by  the  way  of 
the  Columbia  river,  informing  the  authorities  at  Olympia  that  the 
Oregon  volunteers  and  soldiers  east  of  the  mountains  had  driven 
the  hostiles  in  towards  the  Nachess  Pass,  over  or  through  which 
the  Sound  troops  had  to  pass,  and  were  in  ambush  in  sufficient 
force  to  scalp  the  entire  company  of  whites.  Tidd  was  imme 
diately  dispatched  with  orders  to  Hays  to  return,  which  could 
only  reach  him  in  time  to  prevent  this  calamity  by  riding  furiously 
all  night  and  a  part  of  the  next  day.  Perhaps  not  more  than  one 
man  in  five  hundred  could  have  accomplished  this  trip,  but  Bill 
Tidd  did  it. 

The  Indians  all  along  the  Sound  seemed  to  be  aware  of  the  fact 
that  war  had  broken  out  east  of  the  mountains,  and  a  few  of  the 
bravest  among  them  had  shown  signs  of  discontent  and  mutter- 
ings.  It  was  known  that  numbers  of  them  were  gathering  in 
and  about  ConnelPs  Prairie,  near  the  headwaters  of  Puyallup  and 
White  rivers,  but  still  no  great  uneasiness  was  felt  by  the  whites. 
A  few  old  settlers,  well-known  to  the  Indians,  volunteered  to  go 
out  there  and  have  a  talk  with  them,  not  dreaming  that  they 
were  exposing  themselves  to  any  great  danger  in  so  doing.  The 
special  chief  among  the  Indians  along  the  upper  Sound  was 
named  Leschi,  who  had  been  chosen  and  appointed  chief  by  Gov. 
Stevens,  on  account  of  his  superior  intelligence  and  seeming 
friendliness  toward  the  whites.  The  Indians,  however,  never 
fully  recognized  him  as  their  head-chief,  but  adhered  to  their 
tribal  relations,  each  tribe  following  their  own  sub-chief.  Though 
the  Indians  west  of  the  Cascades  were  all  apparently  of  the  same 
stock,  and  all  spoke  the  same  common  jargon  or  "Chinook" 
language,  yet  there  were  many  small  tribes  among  them,  each 


nH  sijed  to  it  by  allies  either  east  or  west  of  the  mountains.     That 
ley  had  cause  can  not  be  denied. 


with  a  slight  or  positively  different  dialect,  and  all  more  or  less 
intermixed  blood  with  each  other  and  with  the  Yakimas  and 
Clickitats.  Satisfactory  treaties  had  been  concluded  between 
them  and  the  whites  several  years  previous,  and  to  this  day  it  has 
never  been  successfully  claimed  that  these  Indians  t  ecame  hostile 
in  consequence  of  dissatisfaction  or  fraud  in  treaty  matters.  It 
may  well  be  doubted  whether  these  Indians  would  have  ever  had 
the  courage  to  fight  the  whites  had  they  not  been  more  than  pur 
sued 
they 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs,  when  on  the  morning  of  October 
30,  1855,  A.  M.  Poe,  a  gentleman  well-known  then  on  the  Sound, 
came  riding  furiously  past  my  cabin  door,  warning  the  neighbor 
hood  that  the  Indians  had  all  broken  out  on  the  war-path  ;  were 
murdering  the  whites  as  fast  as  they  could  overtake  them  ;  that  a 
number  of  white  families  had  been  massacred  on  White  river ;  Abe 
Moses,  the  sheriff  of  our  county,  was  killed  ;  the  old  settlers  who 
had  gone  out  to  have  a  talk  with  the  Indians  had  been  treacher 
ous  attacked  and  some  of  them  killed,  among  them  McAllister, 
an  old  well-known  resident  of  that  county,  and  a  warm  friend  of 
the  Indians;  Connell,  of  Connell's  Prairie,  was  killed,  and  that 
the  Indians  had  the  others  of  the  old  settlers  surrounded  in  a  little 
log  cabin  on  the  Puyallup  bottom  ;  that  he  (Poe)  and  one  other 
had  managed  to  escape  in  the  night  time,  one  going  towards  Steil- 
acoom,  the  other  towards  Olympia,  to  give  warning  as  fast  as  they 
could  ride.  When  one  horse  gave  out  another  was  procured,  and 
thus  the  startling,  horrible  news  was  rapidly  spread  throughout 
all  the  settlements. 

My  wife  had  just  given  birth  to  her  first  child.  An  ox  team 
and  wagon  was  procured  and,  with  the  assistance  of  the  neigh 
bors,  she  was  lifted  into  the  wagon  and  hauled  to  town,  five  miles 
over  a  then  somewhat  new  and  rough  road.  On  arrival  at  Olym 
pia  in  the  evening  the  wildest  state  of  excitement  prevailed.  The 
neighbors  for  miles  around  were  flocking  there  as  fast  as  any  kind 
of  a  conveyance  could  be  had,  and  at  night  every  available  shelter 
or  shed  of  any  kind  was  taken,  under  which  women  and  children 
were  huddled,  while  the  men  ran  hither  and  thither  in  search  of 
arms  and  ammunition  for  defense.  A  home-guard  company  was 
quickly  formed,  Isaac  Hays,  Captain,  and  picket-guards  stationed 
on  the  surrounding  hills,  who  kept  vigil  watch  all  night,  expect 
ing  at  any  moment  an  attack  from  the  Indians.  Within  a  few 
days  several  blocks  of  the  town-site  were  stockaded,  by  placing 
spilt  logs,  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  length, -on  end,  close  together,  leav 
ing  convenient  port-holes  to  shoot  out  from. 

About  this  time  news  was  received  that  Gov.  Stevens  was  shut 
off  and  surrounded  by  hostiles  in  the  upper  country ;  also  that 
Maj.  Haller  had  been  defeated,  and  the  Indians  all  over  the  north 
west,  from  British  Columbia  to  California,  were  up  in  arms  and 


massacreing  the  whites.  Much  anxiety  was  felt  for  the  safety  of 
the  Governor,  and  terror  and  confusion  prevailed  generally.  It 
was  then  made  manifest  how  utterly  unprepared  the  whites  were 
for  such  an  uprising,  which  until  then  had  scarcely  been  thought 
of,  and  men  and  women,  with  blanched  faces  and  terror-stricken 
countenances,  appealed  to  each  other  for  help  and  protection. 

Several  small  companies  were  sent  out  as  scouts  to  the  various 
settlements,  to  watch  for  Indians,  gather  up  the  stock,  put  things 
to  rights,  as  far  as  possible,  around  the  farm  houses,  and  procure 
provisions.  Aid  was  called  for  from  Oregon  and  California,  and 
a  few*  arms  and  supplies  purchased  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany's  stores. 

Two  days  following  our  escape  to  Olympia,  A.  B.  Rabbeson, 

Bill  Tidd  and  — ,  came  in  to  the  settlement  east  of  town, 

foot-sore,  ragged,  torn  and  bleeding,  having  made  their  escape 
from  the  hostiles  near  Council's  Prairie,  forty  miles  distant.  From 
them  it  was  learned  that  upon  the  turning  back  of  Hays'  com 
pany,  five  of  the  company,  Abe  Moses,  A.  B.  Rabbeson,  Dr. 
Burns,  the  company  surgeon,  and  -  -  Miles,  an  Olympia  lawyer, 
got  permission  to  come  on  ahead  of  the  main  column,  in  company 
with  express-rider  Tidd.  Upon  arrival  at  Connell's  Prairia,  the 
first  open  space  of  any  magnitude  this  side  of  the  mountains,  they 
discovered  that  Connell's  house,  barn,  out-buildings  and  fences 
had  been  burned  or  were  still  burning.  They  rode  up  among  a 
lot  of  Indians,  many  of  whom  were  well-known  to  the  whites, 
among  whom  was  Leschi,  the  chief  above  mentioned,  Stayhi,  his 
half-brother,  and  Kanascut,  another  brave  and  desperate  well- 
known  chief.  The  Indians  evinced  sulliness,  but  made  no  actual 
hostile  demonstration.  After  a  short  parley  the  whites  rode  on, 
their  route  making  quite  a  detour  or  circle  after  leaving  the  spot 
where  the  Indians  were,  and  entering  a  large  swamp,  some  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  in  length.  The  Indians  quickly  cut  across 
through  the  timber,  secreted  themselves  alongside  the  trail, 
and  when  about  midway  through  the  swamp,  they  open  fire  upon 
the  whites,  one  ball  passing  through  the  body  of  Abe  Moses,  com 
ing  out  in  front,  but  he  still  stuck  to  his  horse  ;  another  bullet  hit 
Bill  Tidd  in  the  back  of  the  head,  flattened  and  fell  down  his  back, 
inside  his  shirt-collar ;  Mr.  Miles'  horse  was  either  hit  o,r  threw 
his  rider,  upon  which  he  could  not  again  mount,  and  his  remains 
were  found  a  few  days  afterward  literally  hacked  to  pieces.  The 
party  pushed  on  through  the  swamp  and  rode  perhaps  a  mile  or 
more,  when  Moses  gave  out.  They  all  dismounted,  except  Dr. 
Burns,  who  put  spurs  and  dashed  on  through  Finnell's  Prairie 
and  disappeared  in  the  woods  and  brush  on  the  further  side.  He 
was  found,  four  days  afterward,  hid  in  a  hay  stack  on  the  Puyallup 
bottom,  having  abandoned  his  horse  on  reaching  the  opposite  side 
of  the  prairie,  and  crawling  on  his  hands  and  knees  through  the 
timber  and  brush,  at  night  time,  until  he  reached  this  to  him 


-5 

seeming  place  of  safety.  His  horse  was  afterwards  shot,  by  mis 
take,  by  a  picket-guard,  and  his  saddle-bags  and  pistols  were  un" 
touched  by  the  Indians,  they  being  afraid  of  the  medicine  carried. 
The  remaining  party  laid  Moses  clown  by  the  side  of  a  log,  a  short 
distance  from  the  trail,  covered  him  with  their  overcoats  and  left 
him  to  die,  the  poor  fellow  giving  the  Masonic  sign  of  distress  on 
their  leaving  him.  They  then  took  to  the  woods,  and  by  dint  of 
crawling  and  hiding  during  the  day  time,  and  moving  cautiously 
at  night,  succeeded  in  reaching  the  settlements,  in  a  torn,  bleed 
ing  and  exhausted  condition. 

The  day  following  the  above  episode,  the  company  of  old  resi 
dents  above  referred  to,  consisting  of  about  twenty  men,  with 
Charles  Eaton  as  Captain  (Eaton  had  an  Indian  wife),  and  Jas. 
McAllister,  First  Lieutenant  (the  latter  was  one  of  the  first  white 
settlers  in  the  country,  and  could  talk  with  the  Indians  in  their 
own  language,  as  also  could  Eaton  to  some  extent),  who  had  gone 
out  to  have  a  talk  with  the  Indians,  reached  the  Pnyallup  crossing. 
Here  the  main  company  halted,  while  Eaton,  McAllister  and 
Connell,  accompanied  by  two  friendly  Indians,  went  on  and  met 
the  Indians  near  Connell's  home.  They  went  unarmed,  to  show 
the  Indians  that  they  had  come  for  a  friendly  talk.  They  had  a 
talk  with  the  red  rascals,  who  professed  friendship  and  promised 
that  they  would  not  join  the  hostiles,  when  Eaton  and  his  little 
party  started  back  to  the  Puyallup.  They  had  just  passed  the  big 
swamp  above  referred  to,  when  they  were  fired  upon  by  the  sav 
ages  in  ambush,  and  McAllister  and  Connell  killed  ;  Eaton  and 
one  of  the  friendly  Indians  making  their  escape,  while  the  other 
remained  with  the  hostiles.  The  main  company,  having  heard 
the  firing,  took  refuge  in  a  small  log  cabin,  which  Eaton  reached 
just  in  time  to  save  his  scalp,  when  the  red  devils,  drunk  with  the 
smell  of  human  blood,  made  a  furious  assault  on  the  cabin,  keep 
ing  'tup  the  attack  until  daylight  the  next  day,  when  they  got 
wrind  of  the  return  of  Hays7  company  and  hastily  scampered  off 
into  the  woods  and  mountains.  It  was  from  Eaton '«  company  of 
"  Puget  Sound  Rangers  "  that  the  white  settlements  first  received 
warning  of  approaching  danger. 

When  Hays'  company  and  the  regulars  reached  Connell's 
Prairie,  about  this  same  time,  they  quickly  discerned  the  state  of 
affairs,  and  immediately  attacked  the  Indians,  driving  them 
across  White  river,  and  up  Green  and  Black  rivers,  towards  the 
mountains  to  the  north-east.  It  being  impossible  to  follow  them 
further  into  the  mountains  without  opening  trails,  and  heavy 
storms  setting  in,  the  troops  returned  to  the  settlements  and  went 
into  winter  quarters.  It  was  then  learned  that  a  terrible  massacre 
had  occurred  on  White  river,  a  short  distance  above  Seattle,  in 
which  three  families,  by  the  names  of  King,  Brannan  and  Lake, 
had  been  horribly  butchered,  the  women  outraged,  their  breasts 
cut  off  and  their  bodies  thrown  into  wells  and  cess-pools,  and  the 


s 

children  cut  in  twain.  All  were  killed  except  two  little  boys' 
whom  an  old  squaw  hid  in  the  brush  while  the  devils  were  doing 
their  bloody  work.  These  boys  were  afterwards  rescued  from  the 
Indians,  and  were  taken  East  to  their  relatives  by  E.  T.  Gunn,  of 
Olympia.  While  in  San  Francisco  they  were  taken  to  the  Cali 
fornia  theatre,  and  during  the  play  were  brought  on  to  the  stage 
and  their  condition  stated  to  the  audience  by  a  friend,  and  it  is 
said  the  stage  was  nearly  coven  d  with  silver  half-dollars. 

The  Indians  had  evidently  been  watching  the  movements  of 
the  white  troops  on  the  Sound,  and  when  they  supposed  the 
soldiers  and  volunteers  had  crossed  the  mountains  to  fight  the 
Yakimas  and  Clickitats,  they  had  planned  to  make  a  general 
sweep  of  the  Sound  country;  kill  all  the  men  and  children,  and 
take  the  women  and  what  stock  and  property  they  coveted  into 
captivity.  But  the  sudden  and  unexpected  return  of  these  troops 
frustrated  their  designs,  and  no  doubt  saved  one  of  the  most 
extensive  and  terrible  calamities  ever  recorded  in  the  annals  of 
savage  warfare. 

The  dead  were  then  gathered  up,  brought  in  and  buried,  and 
most  of  the  farmers  near  the  towns  returned  to  their  homes,  built 
stockades  and  blockhouses,  or  fortified  their  dwellings  the  best 
they  could,  and  prepared  for  the  winter's  storm.  A  stockade  was 
built  around  S.  D.  Ruddell's  residence  on  Chambers'  Prairie,  small 
board  shanties  erected  on  the  inside,  where  some  five  or  six  fami 
lies,  including  my  own  and  the  father  of  Geo.  H.  Himes,  the 
Printer,  were  forted  up  for  the  winter.  I  purchased  a  little  Ken 
tucky  rifle,  the  best  I  could  get,  paying  $40  for  it,  which  did  not 
originally  cost  much  above  $6.00.  and  afterwards  bought  a  second 
hand  Colt's  revolver  for  $24.00,  which  could  now  be  had  at  any 
shop  for  $3.  Powder  immediately  advanced  to  $2  and  $3  a  pound, 
and  lead  from  75c.  to  $1  a  pound  ;  provisions  and  supplies  of  all 
kinds  almost  thribbled  in  price. 

FORMATION  OF  THE  SECOND  REGIMENT. 

Governor  Stevens  succeeded  in  making  his  escape  out  of  the 
upper  country  and  upon  return  home  and  finding  the  state  of 
aftairs  west  of  the  mountains,  immediately  set  about  the  organi 
zation  of  the  entire  available  force  of  the  whites  of  the  Territory. 
Requisitions  were  sent  to  California  for  munitions  of  war  and 
supplies,  and  an  appeal  made  to  Gov.  Curry  of  Oregon  to  lend  us 
all  the  aid  he  could  spare.  The  time  of  service  of  the  first  com 
panies  called  out  having  expired  they  were  disbanded,  and  several 
new  companies  enlisted,  forming  what  is  known  as  the  Second 
Regiment,  Washington  Territory  volunteers. 

Company  C,  B.  L.  Hen  ness,  Captain,  was  organized  at  Olym 
pia,  to  serve  six  months  or  until  the  close  of  the  Indian  war,  as 
was  all  the  other  companies  of  the  2nd  Regiment.  B.  F.  Shaw, 


of  Vancouver,  was  commissioned  Colonel  of  the  Regiment,  and 
Gilmore  Hays,  Major  of  Battalion. 

As  soon  as  the  weather  would  permit,  the  Governor  determined 
to  erect  a  line  of  blockhouses,  or  fortifications  for  supplies,  along 
line  of  the  old  military  wagon  road  leading  across  the  mountains 
over  the  Nachess  Pass.  This  road,  or  trail  it  would  be  more  proper 
to  call,  had  been  opened  some  years  before  at  government  expense, 
and  over  which  one  train  of  immigrants  had  crossed  in  1853,  after 
much  hard  labor.  This  was  the  only  known  route  across  the 
mountains,  but  the  winter  storms  hnd  again  prostrated  the  timber 
across  it  in  many  places  as  to  almost  obliterate  all  signs  of  a  former 
road.  By  opening  this  road  and  erecting  a  line  of  fortifications 
along  it,  access  to  the  back  or  mountainous  country  could  be 
gained,  which  would  force  the  Indians  out  of  their  hiding  places, 
drive  them  across  the  mountains,  or  should  the  war  east  of  the 
mountains  be  prolonged,  afford  communication  with  the  Sound. 
With  this  end  in  view,  the  Governor  commissioned  Jos..  White, 
of  Thurston  county,  to  recruit  a  company  of  sappers  and  miners, 
to  be  called  "  The  Pioneer  Company."  This  company  was  prin 
cipally  recruited  in  and  around  Steilacoom,  and  wras  composed  of 
men  who  had  served  in  the  regular  army  from  five  to  fifteen  years, 
old  whalers  and  a  few  marines,  some  farmers  and  farmers'  sons, 
first  settlers,  and  two  Kanakas — the  latter  stalwart,  active  fellows, 
who  rendered  much  valuable  service  during  the  campaign.  Al 
though  many  of  them  were  not  skilled  in  the  use  of  axes  or  tools, 
yet  they  knew  how  to  handle  their  guns,  and  were  as  brave  and 
fearless  as  tigers,  tough  as  pine  knots,  and  inured  to  all  kinds  of 
hardships.  They  had  to  be  kept  constantly  in  motion,  however, 
to  keep  down  insubordination  and  rows  among  themselves,  and 
if  we  camped  at  night  anywhere  within  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  of 
a  barrel  of  whiskey  or  box  of  tobacco,  more  than  half  of  it  would 
be  in  camp  the  next  morning. 

White  having  recruited  the  company,  was,  of  course,  elected 
Captain,  U.  E.  Hicks  was  chosen  First  Lieutenant,  and  McLane 
Chambers,  Second  Lieutenant.  My  commission  as  First  Lieuten 
ant  is  dated  February  8,  1856.  We  were  duly  mustered  and  sworn 
in  as  a  regular  company  of  volunteers,  and  were  recognized  as 
such  by  the  U.  S.  troops. 

Our  first  rendezvous  was  on  the  Yelm  Prairie,  where  we  built 
a  store  and  blockhouse.  We  then  moved  to  Montgomery's,  some 
fifteen  or  eighteen  miles  further  on.  Here  we  were  joined  by  sev 
eral  other  companies.  A  large  amount  of  stores  were  soon  col 
lected  at  this  place,  occupying  a  large  barn.  From  here  on  we  had 
to  open  the  road  as  we  progressed,  and  were  followed  by  some 
twenty  or  thirty  ox-teams,  drawing  heavily  loaded  wagons  with 
supplies,  with  Captains  Henness,  Swindall,  and  perhaps  other 
companies,  as  escort.  We  waded  the  Puyallup  in  the  advance, 
and  camped,  without  fire,  shelter,  or  supper,  in  a  cold  drenching 


8 

rain,  at  the  spot  were  the  old  settlers  had  been  surrounded  and 
attacked  at  the  commencement  of  hostilities. 

DEATH  OP  KANASKTJT. 

About  half  a  mile  further  on  a  company  of  regulars  were 
encamped  near  the  steep  high  hill  up  which  the  trail  meandered. 
They  had  placed  a  picket-guard  of  three  men  a  short  distance  up 
the  hill.  Just  at  daylight  the  next  morning  they  saw  three  In 
dians  stealthily  crawling  down  the  hill  toward  camp.  When 
within  easy  gun-shot  the  savages  stopped  behind  a  large 
log,  completely  hid  from  camp,  but  within  plain  view  of  the 
picket-guard.  One  of  the  Indians  raised  up,  with  his  gun  pointed 
over  the  log,  intently  watching  the  camp,  evidently  waiting  a 
favorable  opportunity  to  pick  off  an  officer  or  some  prominent 
man  whom  he  personally  knew.  A  few  soldiers  had  just  began 
to  stir  in  camp,  when  the  best  marksman  of  the  picket-guard 
drew  a  bead  on  the  Indian  and  at  the  crack  of  his  gun  the  Indian 
threw  up  his  hands,  his  gun  fell  over  the  log  opposite  him,  and 
he  sank  down.  The  other  two  Indians  broke  and  ran  back  up  the 
hill,  were  fired  at  by  the  other  two  guard,  but  were  missed.  In 
an  instant  both  camps  were  on  their  feet,  ready  for  an  attack. 
On  approaching  the  Indian  he  was  found  lying  on  his  back,  with 
a  long  murderous-looking  knife  drawn,  with  which  he  would  cut 
and  slash  at  any  one  who  came  within  possible  reach.  A  minnie 
ball  from  the  guard's  rifle  had  gone  clean  through  him  from 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  disabling  him  from  standing  on  his  feet,  but 
he  could  still  use  his  arms.  A  rope  was  procured,  lassooed  around 
one  foot,  and  he  was  dragged  down  the  hill  and  into  camp.  He 
proved  to  be  Kanaskut,  a  White  river  Indian  chief,  well-known 
as  a  brave  and  desperate  enemy  to  the  whites,  and  feared  by  all. 
After  a  short  parley  with  him,  in  which  he  evinced  all  the  ma 
lignant  hatred  of  a  wounded  eagle,  he  was  dispatched  with  a  bul 
let  through  his  brains.  Much  relief  was  felt  when  it  was  known 
that  Kanaskut  was  killed. 

From  there  we  pushed  on  over  to  Connell's  Prairie,  where  we 
erected  a  large  storehouse,  blockhouse  and  hospital  buildings. 
Some  forty  head  of  beef  cattle  were  here  slaughtered  and  salted- 
down,  and  a  big  barrel  of  whiskey  stolen  out  of  the  hospital  one 
night  by  the  boys  in  camp. 

About  the  time  of  the  completion  of  this  work,  word  was 
brought  to  us  that  the  Indians  had  attacked  a  small  company  of 
regulars  under  command  of  Lieut.  Slaughter,  and  a  company  of 
volunteer  commanded  by  Oapt.  G.^5.  Hewitt ;  that  Slaughter  had 
been  kilted,  the  troops  routed,  and  all  their  camp  equippage  and 
about  forty  government  mules  captured.  This  occurred  over  on 
the  Muck,  somewhere  near  the  junction  of  Green  river,  about  ten 
miles  below  us  on  White  river.  It  was  afterwards  learned  that 
the  hostiles  west  of  the  mountains  had  been  reinforced  by  about 


9 

sixty  warriors  from  the  Clickitats,  and  that  these  Indians  had 
been  watching  the  movements  of  the  regular  troops,  deeming 
them  the  most  formidable  foe,  and  had  paid  but  little  attention  to 
the  doings  of  the  volunteers.  While  we  were  at  work  on  Connell's 
Prairie  the  escort  guard  had  made  several  scouting  tours  through 
the  woods  and  hills  around,  but  had  seen  no  signs  of  Indians. 

BATTLE  OF  CONNELL'S  PRAIRIE. 

On  the  morning  of  March  10,  1856,  Capt.  White's  "  Pioneer 
Company  "  was  ordered  to  proceed  on  and  open  the  road  to  the 
crossing  of  White  river,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  blockhouse 
there.  The  company  started  out  early  in  the  morning,  a  little 
after  sun-up.  The  sun  had  risen  bright  and  clear,  and  there  was 
considerable  frost  on  the  ground.  Each  man  carried  an  ax,  cross 
cut  saw  or  other  tool,  in  one  hand,  and  his  gun  in  the  other. 
We  also  had  one  yoke  of  steers  with  us,  to  drag  the  logs  away 
when  cut  in  two.  Capt.  White  ordered  me  to  take  three  men  and 
proceed  some  two  or  three  hundred  yards  in  advance,  to  look  out 
for  Indians  and  give  warning  of  approaching  danger.  On  reach 
ing  the  timber,  about  one  mile  from  camp,  the  trail  descended  a 
sharp  little  hill,  about  seventy  or  eighty  feet  in  hight.  The  road 
had  to  be  cut  sidling  down  the  hill.  On  descending  the  hill  and 
proceeding  a  short  distance  further,  we  came  to  an  old  trail  lead 
ing  directly  up  the  hill,  the  brow  of  which  was  not  a  hundred 
yards  distant.  Here  we  discovered  very  fresh  moccasin  and  mule 
tracks  in  the  frost.  I  instantly  knew  that  it  was  the  same  Indians 
who  had  attacked  Slaughter  and  Hewitt,  on  the  Muckelshoot.  The 
main  company  was  not  yet  in  sight,  or  within  hailing  distance. 
Myself  and  one  of  my  men  walked  up  this  trail  to  perhaps  within 
ten  or  twenty  feet  of  the  top  of  the  hill,  which  was  covered  with 
fallen  timber  and  pretty  thick  brush,  but  not  a  leaf  or  a  twig 
moved  to  indicate  the  presence  of  the  enemy.  I  afterward  saw 
numbers  of  Indians  rise  up  from  these  same  logs  and  brush.  On 
regaining  the  bottom  of  the  hill  the  main  company  came  in  sight 
and  I  gave  the  alarm.  The  words  had  hardly  escaped  my  lips 
before  a  hail-storm  of  bullets  and  arrows  whizzed  around  us.  But, 
fortunately,  no  one  was  hit  by  the  first  volley.  We  instinctively 
jumped  behind  the  nearest  trees  or  logs,  each  one  seeking  shelter 
the  best  he  could  for  the  moment ;  but  one  poor  fellow  (our  best 
axeman),  unfortunately,  did  n't  get  behind  a  tree  large  enough,  for 
on  peeking  around  the  tree  he  naturally  bent  his  body,  thus  ex 
posing  his  head  and  rump,  and  having  a  very  small  head  his 
enemy  fired  at  the  biggest  mark,  making  a  terrible  flesh-wound, 
though  breaking  no  bones.  Although  the  poor  fellow  was  sorely 
wounded,  still  many  of  us  could  not  help  laughing  over  it,  even 
at  the  time.  The  Indians,  evidently  flushed  with  success  in  beat 
ing  back  the  regulars  and  small  companies  of  volunteers  who 
were  endeavoring  to  penetrate  their  mountain  fastnesses  without 


10 

the  aid  of  blockhouses,  from  the  direction  of  Seattle,  had  come 
up  to  Connell's  Prairie,  with  their  entire  force,  perhaps  250  in 
number,  to  clean  us  out.  There  were  about  175  whites.  They  had 
seen  our  company  approaching  the  timber  and  had  made  prepar 
ation  to  receive,  surround  and  scalp  us  in  a  few  minutes.  They 
waited  until  the  main  company  had  got  down  the  hill,  when,  by 
suddenly  opening  fire  on  us,  it  was  expected  we  would  run  a  few 
steps  further  on  to  another  decline,  where  they  had  posted  sixty 
of  their  picked  men,  to  receive  and  scalp  all  who  might  escape  the 
first  fire.  But,  instead  of  doing  as  the  Indians  had  expected,  we 
stood  our  ground,  or  rather,  if  anything,  pushed  back  up  under 
the  hill  from  whence  the  attack  had  first  come,  and  replied  when 
ever  we  saw  any  of  the  naked  and  painted  red  devils  to  shoot  at. 
At  camp,  very  fortunately  for  us,  were  about  forty  volunteers 
standing  in  line,  all  ready  to  go  out  on  a  scout  that  morning.  As 
quick  as  the  report  of  the  Indians'  guns  reached  camp  they  started 
on  a  keen  run  to  our  assistance.  The  distance  was  about  a  mile, 
as  before  stated.  On  nearing  the  timber,  those  in  advance  saw 
the  smoke  rising  up  from  the  brush  and  logs  before  described,  and 
thought  it  was  us  firing  down  the  hill.  The  Indians  were  so  in 
tent  watching  our  movements  that  they  did  not  notice  the  coming 
of  white  men  behind  them,  until  some  ten  or  a  dozen  of  our  boys 
were  right  in  their  midst.  Then  it  seemed  as  if  all  Hades  had 
been  let  loose,  and  that  the  demons  oi  the  damned  were  all  there. 
The  roar  of  musketry  was  deafening  for  a  few  moments,  when 
the  Indians  began  to  give  way  a  little.  In  the  mean  time  the  sixty 
devils  who  had  been  waiting  for  us,  seeing  that  we  did  n't  come 
according  to  contract,  had  begun  crawling  up  on  us  from  behind, 
and  had  not  help  come  they  would  have  had  our  scalps  anyhow, 
in  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  more.  But  the  driving  away  of  the 
Indians  from  the  brow  of  the  hill,  down  which  we  had  come,  en 
abled  us  to  regain  the  top  or  level  again  and  join  our  rescuers. 
The  firing  then  opened  all  along  the  line  of  timber  and  brush,  for 
half  a  mile  or  more  in  length,  toward  camp.  At  the  edge  of  the 
timber  was  a  steep  little  rise,  at  the  foot  of  which  lay  a  deep  miry 
swamp,  covered  with  thorns,  briars  and  hardback,  through  which 
one  had  to  almost  cut  his  way  with  a  butcher's  knife;  but  back 
of  this  the  timber  was  more  open.  The  Indians  ran  along  the 
open  timber,  toward  camp,  the  swamp  and  blown  down  trees 
affording  almost  complete  breastworks  and  shelter  from  attack  in 
front. 

Learning  that  some  of  my  company  had  been  wounded,  and 
that  the  Captain  had  jumped  into  a  hollow  stump  and  was  still 
there,  I  procured  assistance,  and  by  running  directly  in  front  of 
the  enemy's  fire,  we  succeeded  in  getting  the  wounded  into  camp. 
Three  had  been  wounded  quite  severely,  but  none  mortally. 

About  fifty  yards  distant  from  the  open  space  through  which 
we  ran  with  our  wounded,  was  a  line  of  quaking-asps,  the  twigs 


11 

and  leaves  of  which  fell  in  a  shower,  as  if  being  stripped  by  in  vis- 
able  hands,  cut  by  bullets  and  arrows  fired  at  us. 

At  camp  great  confusion  prevailed ;  no  one  seemed  to  be  in 
command,  but  everyone  ready  to  fight  on  his  own  hook.  A  party 
of  us,  however,  soon  organized  arid  started  out  to  charge  the  In 
dians  along  the  brush  and  hill-side.  In  this  charge  some  of  my 
skilor-boys  proved  valuable  in  wading  the  swamp  and  climbing 
logs  in  the  advance.  We  captured  one  Indian,  who  was  quickly 
dispatched,  and  several  drums,  bows  and  arrows,  which  the  enemy 
were  compelled  to  drop  in  their  flight.  On  gaining  the  brow  of 
the  hill  we  were  compelled  to  halt,  for  want  of  knowledge  as  to 
where  our  own  forces  were,  fearing  that  we  might  mistake  them 
for  the  enemy  in  the  brush.  Much  valuable  time  was  thus  lost, 
for  had  the  charge,  so  favorably  commenced,  been  vigorously  kept 
up,  seconded  by  assistance  all  along  the  line,  not  many  Indians 
would  have  escaped.  As  it  was,  however,  when  they  heard  our 
yells  and  knew  that  we  had  commenced  to  charge,  they  quickly 
began  to  retreat,  dragging  their  dead  and  wounded  with  them. 
After  a  time  we  proceeded  on,  but  saw  no  more  Indians;  they 
were  routed  and  gone.  The  fight  lasted  from  about  8  o'clock  in 
the  morning  until  3  in  the  afternoon. 

Of  the  number  of  the  enemy  killed  or  wounded  we  had  only 
to  guess,  but  on  going  over  the  ground  we  discovered  many  places 
marked  with  pools  of  blood,  and  trails  where  they  had  dragged 
their  wounded  back  into  the  timber ;  also,  two  or  three  hats  per 
forated  with  bullet-holes,  with  hair,  blood  and  brains  on  the  in 
side.  We  learned,  long  afterwards,  that  about  thirty  Indians  had 
been  killed  and  wounded  in  this  battle,  although  we  did  not  get 
but  one  at  the  time. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  fight  numerous  squaws  were  seen 
in  the  front  ranks,  beating  drums,  dancing  and  yelling,  and  other 
wise  encouraging  their  men.  They  believed  the  whites  would 
not  shoot  at  them,  but  the  boys,  getting  tired  of  such  nonsense, 
knocked  over  a  few  of  them,  and  thereafter  the  rest  kept  more  hid 
but  still  encouraged  their  men  with  unearthly  screams  and  yells, 
and  the  beating  of  drums.  The  Indians  were  frequently  within 
speaking  distance,  and  would  banter  our  boys  (many  of  whom 
they  personally  knew,  calling  them  by  name),  with  the  vilest 
epithets  the  jargon  language  could  convey. 

OTHER    BLOCKHOUSES  AND   BULLETS. 

On  Wednesday  following  we  again  started  out,  opened  the 
road  to  White  river  crossing,  and  began  the  erection  of  a  block 
house.  We  were  accompanied  this  time  by  an  escort  guard  from 
Oapt.  Henness'  company.  Opposite  the  site  selected  for  the  block 
house  is  a  high  bluff,  the  top  within  gunshot,  which  was  left  un 
guarded,  because  of  the  difficult  crossing  of  the  river.  On  Thurs 
day  noon,  'Vene  Phillips,  of  the  picket-guard,  jokingly  gave  a. 


false  alarm.  Some  men  were  notching  down  the  logs  on  the  cor 
ners,  while  others  were  pushing  heavy  logs  up  the  skids.  On  see 
ing  Phillips  waving  his  cap,  we  all  rushed  for  our  guns,  when,  as 
much  to  his  surprise  as  to  ours,  another  hailstorm  of  bullets  fell 
among  us  Irom  the  top  of  the  bluff.  No  one  was  wounded  by  the 
first  volley,  though  several  had  their  hats  and  clothing  pierced  by 
bullets.  A  single  shot,  however,  struck  one  of  Phillip's  compan 
ions  in  the  back  of  the  neck,  the  bullet  passing  inside  the  jugular 
vein  and  coming  out  at  the  bur  of  the  ear.  He  was  picked  up 
for  dead,  but  finally  revived,  and  is  still  living,  I  believe,  though 
mentally  deranged.  Neither  he  nor  any  of  the  wounded  in  this 
war,  have  received  any  recognition  from  the  government,  to  my 
knowledge,  other  than  the  paltry  pay  finally  allowed  the  volun 
teers.  No  reply  was  made  to  the  Indians,  as  they  were  beyond 
the  reach  of  our  guns,  and  the  river  lay  between.  But  we  com 
pleted  the  house  next  day,  and  posted  a  guard  inside,  as  had  been 
done  with  all  the  others  erected. 

We  then  returned  and  built  a  blockhouse  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Puyallup.  From  there  we  opened  a  road  to  South  Prairie,  the 
present  locality  of  the  famed  Carbonado  coal  mines,  where  we 
erected  another  blockhouse. 

DEATH   OF   JOHN   EDGAR. 

A  short  time  prior  to  our  arrival  on  South  Prairie,  John  Edgar, 
then  residing  upon  and  owning  the  old  well-known  Edgar  farm, 
on  the  Yelm  Prairie,  and  who  had  an  Indian  wife,  and  could 
speak  the  Indian  language  well,  had  gone  out  to  South  Prairie, 
in  company  with  a  small  party,  to  meet  and  have  a  talk  with  a  few 
Indians  whom  he  had  learned  were  on  this  prairie.  A  small  deep 
stream  ran  along  the  northern  and  western  edges,  whose  banks 
were  covered  with  very  thick  underbrush.  A  tree,  blown  down, 
spanned  the  banks.  Edgar  was  the  first  to  get  upon  the  log, 
closely  followed  by  two  companions.  When  quite  close  to  the 
up-turned  roots  of  the  tree  on  the  opposite  bank,  an  Indian,  con 
cealed  behind  the  roots,  fired  a  Hudson's  Bay  musket,  the  ball 
passing  through  Edgar's  body,  through  the  side  of  his  next  com 
panion  (a  half-breed),  and  slightly  wounding  a  friendly  Indian 
who  came  third.  Edgar  fell  off  the  log  into  the  stream  dead. 
The  savage,  of  course,  made  his  escape. 

A  PROMOTION. 

From  South  Prairie  we  moved  back  to  Montgomery's,  where 
we  erected  a  large  store-house,  blockhouse  and  other  buildings, 
and  named  Fort  Hicks. 

Before  the  completion  of  this  work,  Captain  White  resigned 
his  commission,  as,  in  fact,  he  had  not  commanded  the  company 
from  a  short  time  after  the  fight  on  Connell's  Prairie.  The  Second 
Lieutenant  had  also  resigned  his  commission  some  time  previous, 


13 

and  as  the  whole  duty  had  devolved  upon  me  up  to  this  time,  the 
company  demanded  that  I  be  elected  and  commissioned  Captain. 
My  commission  as  Captain  is  dated  May  24,  1856,  and  the  oath  of 
office  was  taken  before  Governor  Stevens  in  person.  I  value  these 
papers  now  as  much  for  the  sake  of  the  autographs  of  Isaac  I. 
Stevens  and  James  Tilton  as  for  other  reasons.  Stevens  was 
killed  early  in  the  great  civil  war,  and  Tilton  died  some  years  ago 
in  Delaware,  I  believe. 

MARTI ALt   LAW,    ETC. 

At  the  commencement  of  hostilities  Governor  Stevens,  who 
was  Superintendent  of  Indians  Affairs  for  the  Territory,  selected 
a  large  island  in  the  Sound,  near  Steilacoom,  as  a  reservation,  to 
which  all  friendly  or  non-combatant  Indians  were  required  to  go, 
where  they  would  be  sheltered,  fed  and  protected  at  government 
expense.  All  prisoners  taken  were  also  required  to  be  sent  there. 
A  number  of  the  latter  had  been  placed  there,  where  they  would 
remain  a  few  days,  until  sufficiently  recruited,  and  then  jump 
into  the  bay,  swim  to  the  main  land,  and  the  next  day  be  out  in 
the  hostile  camp.  Several  such  were  recaptured  more  than  once, 
until  the  volunteers  got  tired  of  the  business  and  quietly  resolved 
to  take  no  more  prisoners. 

Pierce  county,  within  the  territory  of  which  the  principal  cen 
ter  of  the  hostile  forces  was  located,  was  largely  settled  up  by 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  employes,  half-breeds,  trappers  and 
voyageurs,  many  of  whom  were  living  with  Indian  women.  The 
town  of  Steilacoom  was  the  county  seat.  (The  city  of  Tacoma, 
where  now  resides  more  inhabitants  than  the  whole  Territory 
then  contained,  was  not  thought  of.)  A  large  majority  of  the 
then  residents  of  Pierce  county  were  believed,  and  not  without 
reason,  to  be  more  friendly  toward  the  Indians  than  they  were  to 
the  Americans.  Several  such,  suspected  of  furnishing  informa 
tion  and  aid  to  the  enemy,  together  with  Leschi,  the  chief  before 
referred  to,  and  a  few  other  captured  hostiles,  were  held  as  pris 
oners  of  war  by  the  troops,  and  were  about  to  be  tried  by  court- 
martial.  Their  sympathising  friends  in  the  neighborhood  gath 
ered  in  Steilacoom,  employed  lawyers,  and  petitioned  the  civil 
authorities  to  rescue  the  prisoners  from  the  hands  of  the  military. 
Judge  Edward  Lander,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Territory,  was  called 
upon  to  open  court  in  Steilacoom  for  this  purpose.  Court  was 
convened,  a  jury  summoned,  and  a  demand  made  for  the  release  of 
the  prisoners.  The  Governor,  believing  that  such  a  course  would 
greatly  encourage  the  hostiles,  besides  setting  at  liberty  known 
enemies,  in  which  opinion  he  was  backed  by  the  entire  volunteer 
force,  immediately  proclaimed  martial  law  over  the  county  of 
Pierce,  sent  a  company  of  militia  from  Olympia,  arrested  Judge 
Lander,  took  him  a  prisoner  to  Montgomery's,  and  broke  up  the 
court.  This  action,  of  course,  created  intense  excitement  for  a 


time,  but  a  fews  days  sufficed  for  calmer  reflection,  and  peace,  law 
and  order  was  soon  restored.  The  suspected  whites  were  held  for 
a  time,  and  finally  released.  Leschi  and  one  or  two  other  hostiles 
were  afterwards  duly  tried  before  the  court  in  Steilacoom  and 
hung. 

TROOPS   CROSS  THE  MOUNTAIN. 

A  line  of  blockhouses  now  having  been  established  to  the  foot 
or  base  of  the  pass  across  the  mountains,  and  the  hostile  Indians 
on  this  side  pretty  well  subdued  since  their  disastrous  defeat  on 
ConnelPs  Prairie,  the  entire  volunteer  force  in  the  field  were 
again  gathered  at  Montgomery's,  and  preparation  made  to  cross 
the  mountains  into  the  Yakima  country.  (My  brother,  Thos.  B. 
Hicks,  was  in  one  of  these  companies.)  Upon  being  mounted  and 
regularly  equipped,  they  were  joined  by  Col.  Casey's  command 
of  regular  troops  from  Fort  Steilacoom,  and  two  companies  of  vol 
unteers  from  Oregon.  Col.  B.  F.  Shaw  took  command  as  Colonel 
of  the  volunteer  regiment.  In  this  order  they  proceeded  on  their 
journey,  leaving  "  Pioneer  Company,"  and  Capt.  Swindall's  com 
pany  to  scout  the  foot-hills  and  plains  back  of  the  settlements, 
while  the  "home  guards"  held  the  forts  and  blockhouses.  The 
country  over  which  our  duties  now  extended  was  from  forty  to 
to  sixty  miles  in  length,  and  twenty  to  thirty  broad. 

END   OF   HARD   LABOR,    PAY,    ETC. 

We  returned  to  the  Yelm  Prairie,  and  from  there  opened  the 
road  to  the  Tenalquot  Plains,  where  we  erected  another  small 
blockhouse.  This  ended  our  labors  as  a  company  of  miners  and 
sappers. 

By  persistent  hard  pleading  I  procured  horses  and  mounted  a 
part  of  my  company,  relieving  those  whom  I  could  not  mount 
from  further  duty.  We  continued  in  this  service  as  mounted 
scouts  or  rangers  until  some  time  in  August,  when  we  were  mus 
tered  out  of  service,  turning  over  our  entire  outfit  to  Quartermas 
ter  General  W.  W.  Miller,  in  Olympia. 

The  war  having  ended,  I  returned  to  my  little  farm  in  the  fall 
of  that  year,  but  in  consequence  of  the  loss  of  time  and  nearly  all 
that  I  had  accumulated,  I  found  I  could  not  recover  and  shortly 
afterwards  sold  out,  moved  to  town  and  went  to  work  at  my  trade. 
Seven  years  afterward,  following  a  somewhat  prolonged  corres 
pondence  with  the  Third  Auditor,  I  was  paid  a  small  sum  out  of 
the  government  treasury  for  my  services.  In  this,  however,  I 
fared  better  than  some  of  my  neighbors,  who  gave  or  lost  their  all, 
and  have  not  to  this  day  been  recompensed. 

The  pay  finally  allowed  by  the  government  was,  to  the  private 
.soldier  or  volunteer,  $18  per  month  and  rations  ;  to  commissioned 
and  non-commissioned  officers,  the  same  as  allowed  the  regular 
army,  but  no  clothing.  Many  of  the  men  in  my  company  were 


15 


more  in  debt  to  the  government  for  clothing  than  their  pay 
amounted  to  at  the  end  of  their  service.  Much  of  the  clothing 
furnished  was  rotten,  shoddy  stuff,  for  which  at  least  three  prices 
were  charged  above  cost.  Frequently  a  man  would  put  on  a  new 
pair  of  pants  of  boots  in  the  morning,  and  come  into  camp  at 
night  in  rags.  Our  work  was  rough,  and  most  of  the  country 
through  which  we  operated  was  mountainous  and  very  rugged. 
Such  clothing  would  not  stand  the  wear. 

In  the  matter  of  provisions  we  were  generally  well  supplied » 
though  occasionally  being  reduced  to  salt-junk  and  hard-tack.  I 
may  mention  here,  that  the  beef  slaughtered  and  packed  on  Con- 
nelPs  Prairie  all  spoiled  arid  had  to  be  thrown  away,  caused,  some 
say,  by  the  beating  of  drums  and  the  roar  of  musketry  around  it 
and  our  major  on  that  beautiful  March  day,  which  may  have  had 
the  same  effect  on  poor  beef  that  thunder  is  said  to  have  on  milk. 

RECAPITULATION. 

Number  of  blockhouses  and  other  buildings  erected  by  the 
company,  nine. 

Number  of  miles  of  road  opened  and  repaired,  about  forty. 
Number  of  men  in  company,  at  the  highest,  forty-six. 
Time  of  service,  six  months. 
Number  of  Indians  killed  or  captured,  klone-as. 


SCENES  AMD  INCIDENTS. 


SCENE   ONE. 

Upon  completion  of  the  blockhouse  on  South  Prairie,  and 
while  waiting  further  orders,  about  twenty-five  of  us  started  out 
on  a  scout  toward  the  foot  of  Mt.  Rainier,  carrying  gun,  cartridge- 
box  (21  rounds),  two  days'  provision  and  blanket.  We  took  in 
company  a  young  friendly  Indian  as  guide  or  spy  for  Indian 
signs.  We  reach  the  mountain  at  dusk  and  camped  just  below 
the  snow  line  on  that  magnificent  peak.  Thus  far  we  had  seen 
but  very  little  indication  of  recent  Indian  sign,  except  a  blazing 
fire  from  a  few  pieces  of  fir  bark  on  the  top  of  a  high  hill  which 
we  had  just  climbed,  but  no  tracks  or  other  sign.  On  our  return 
the  next  day,  by  a  different  route,  and  while  on  a  very  high 
plateau,  densely  timbered,  our  Indian  spy  noticed  a  small  fir  limb 
sticking  in  the  ground  in  a  peculiar  manner,  showing  that  it  could 
not  have  fallen  thus  from  a  tree,  but  not  the  least  sign  of  foot-print 
or  mark  of  Indian  or  animal.  After  a  sharp  close  inspection  an 
other  limb,  similarly  stuck,  about  150  or  200  yards  distant,  was 
discovered.  This  led  on  to  another,  but  still  no  track  or  trail,  and 
so  on  for  about  one  mile  or  more,  when  we  entered  a  dense  cedar 
swamp.  Here  we  suddenly  found  a  large  number  of  cedar  trees 


16 

quite  recently  stripped  of  bark,  and  a  wide  beaten  track  leading 
to  a  large  ranch,  built  on  a  slight  rise,  close  to  a  stream  of  water. 
We  got  close  to  the  ranch  before  those  inside  suspected  our  pres 
ence.  One  shot  was  fired  at  us,  but  did  no  harm.  As  the  savages 
came  out  of  the  one  hole  in  front,  they  were  shot  down,  big  and 
little,  squaws  and  all,  except  one  buck  and  one  squaw,  who  ran, 
side  by  side,  the  full  length  of  our  fire  and  escaped.  In  the  ranch 
was  found  numerous  household  trinkets,  dresses,  dishes,  spoons, 
knives  and  forks,  rings,  and  keepsakes,  taken  from  the  residences 
of  the  families  massacred  on  White  river.  I  also  found  the  scalp 
of  one  of  the  white  women  who  had  been  so  cruelly  murdered. 
We  saved  such  articles  as  might  be  desired  by  the  friends  of  the 
murdered  families,  burned  the  ranch,  and  left  the  dead  bodies  of 
the  savages  just  as  they  had  fallen  when  shot. 

SCENE   TWO. 

A  few  days  following  this  incident,  a  Lieutenant  from  Col. 
Casey's  command,  U.  S.  A.,  came  out  to  South  Prairie  with  about 
a  dozen  regulars,  and  were  joined  with  an  equal  number  of 
our  boys.  They  proceeded  on  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Nisqually, 
where  another  ranch  of  Indians  was  found.  Some  were  killed 
and  the  remainder  taken  prisoners,  including  the  squaws.  They 
then  returned  to  Montgomery's,  where  a  trial  was  held  and  two 
of  the  prisoners  sentenced  to  be  shot  and  one  hung.  Execution 
was  postponed  until  the  next  morning.  The  fellow  sentenced  to 
be  hung  howled  and  raved  all  night.  An  Indian  fears  death  by 
hanging  more  than  any  other  punishment.  The  next  morning 
he  told  the  guard  that  the  great  Ta-mah-na-wis  spirit  had  come  to 
him  in  the  night  and  told  him  that  he  could  not  be  hung  ;  that 
the  rope  would  break.  The  two  who  were  shot  met  their  doom 
without  a  murmur.  A  convenient  oak  limb  was  found  near  camp, 
and  the  black  devil  led  out  to  it,  all  the  while  calling  loudly  on  his 
spirit  Tyee;  one  end  of  a  rope  was  duly  adjusted  to  his  neck  and 
the  other  thrown  over  the  limb,  when  three  or  four  pulled  on  it, 
raising  the  Indian  five  or  six  feet  above  ground.  The  body  spun 
around  rapidly  for  about  half  a  minute,  when  the  rope  did  break 
sure  enough.  A  knife  quickly  cut  the  rope  from  his  neck,  and 
he  was  allowed  to  regain  his  breath  for  a  few  moments. '  In  the 
mean  time  one  of  the  boys  ran  back  to  camp  and  soon  returned, 
dragging  a  long  lariat  through  the  wet  grass.  This  was  adjusted 
to  the  Indian's  neck,  and  he  was  again  swung  up,  where  he 
remained  severa^hours.  His  Ta-mah-na-wis  Ty-ee  had  not  calcu 
lated  on  the  strength  of  a  raw-hide  rope. 

SCENE   THREE. 

When  Gov.  Stevens  issued  his  proclamation  commanding  all 
peaceably  disposed  and  non-combatant  Indians  to  be  removed  to 
the  island  reservation,  Dr.  Tolmie,  Chief  Factor  of  the  Hudson's 


17 

Company's  post  at  Fort  Nisqually,  obtained  permission  from  the 
Governor  to  keep  a  few  Indians  around  his  post,  vouching  for 
their  conduct  while  the  war  lasted.  [I  will  take  this  occasion  to 
explain,  that  Dr.  Tolmie  did  not  then  claim  special  rights  or  priv 
ileges  by  reason  of  his  connection  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany,  but  a  so-called  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Company  had 
been  formed,  exclusively  by  Hudson's  Bay  Company  employes 
or  those  more  or  less  connected  therewith,  which  laid  claim  to 
large  tracts  of  land  within  the  Territory.  Much  litigation  grew 
out  of  the  claims  of  this  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Company,  which 
the  American  residents  regarded  as  but  another  name  for  the  old 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.]  The  Indians  kept  by  Tolmie  were 
suspicioned  of  giving  information  and  aid  to  the  hostiles  when 
ever  chance  offered. 

In  my  company  was  a  man  by  the  name  of  Lake,  brother  to 
one  of  the  families  massacred  on  White  river.  Of  course  he  was 
bitter  against  all  red-skins,  friend  or  foe.  The  sad  fate  of  his  dear 
relatives  seemed  to  weigh  upon  his  mind,  so  much  so  that  at  times 
he  would  become  almost  frantic,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that 
he  could  be  restrained  from  acts  of  violence  toward  friendly  In 
dians  in  our  own  camp.  The  poor  fellow  died  shortly  after  the 
close  of  the  war,  from  over-exposure  and  mental  worry. 

While  the  companies  were  camped  at  Montgomery's  prepara 
tory  to  crossing  the  mountains,  Lake  obtained  a  furlough  to  go  to 
Steilacoom,  eighteen  miles  distant,  on  private  business.  On  his 
return  the  next  evening  he  passed  Fort  Nisqually  just  at  dusk, 
and  was  seen  by  some  squaws.  A  short  distance  beyond  the  fort 
he  saw  a  big  Indian  buck  in  the  woods  close  to  the  trail.  The 
temptation  was  too  great  for  him  to  withstand,  so  he  levelled  his 
gun  and  knocked  the  Indian  over,  the  report  of  his  rifle  being 
heard  at  the  fort.  On  reaching  camp  at  night,  he  sent  for  me.  I 
found  him  hid  away  in  his  tent,  when  he  whispering  told  me 
what  he  had  did.  I  scolded  him  for  the  act,  but  still  could  not 
help  sympathizing  with  him,  as,  indeed,  he  had  the  sympathy  of 
the  entire  company  and  camp.  I  cautioned  him  to  keep  quiet 
and  promised  that  I  would  do  what  I  could  to  shield  him  from 
further  trouble.  The  next  morning  Dr.  Tolmie,  accompanied  by 
two  or  three  squaws,  appeared  in  camp,  and  immediately  entered 
complaint  before  Colonel  Shaw  that  one  of  his  friendly  Indians 
had  been  killed  the  evening  before,  near  the  fort,  by  a  volunteer, 
and  had  brought  the  squaws  along  to  identify  the  man  seen  pass 
ing  the  fort  a  few  minutes  before  hearing  the  report  of  the  rifle, 
and  if  the  man  could  be  found,  he  (Tolmie)  demanded  his  imme 
diate  arrest  and  punishment.  The  Colonel  ordered  all  the  com 
panies  to  be  drawn  up  in  line.  It  then  became  generally  known 
what  had  happened,  and  it  required  considerable  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  officers  to  keep  the  men  in  line  while  the  roll  was  be 
ing  called  and  they  were  being  examined  by  Tolmie  and  his 


18 

squaws.  My  company  was  the  last  to  be  examined,  and  although 
it  was  by  that  time  pretty  generally  suspected  who  they  were 
after,  still  it  was  hoped  by  the  boys  that  by  noise  and  confusion 
they  would  so  frighten  the  squaws  that  they  would  fail  to  identify. 
The  line  was  passed  without  identification  (Lake  had  changed 
his  clothing),  when  Dr.  Burns  (the  same  Doctor  referred  to  in  the 
early  part  of  this  story),  knowing  Lake  to  be  the  suspected  party 
and  had  been  absent  from  camp  a  day  or  two  previous,  and  being 
a  warm  friend  to  Tolmie,  pointed  to  where  Lake  stood  in  line, 
when  he  was  recognized  by  the  squaws.  Scarcely  had  he  been 
pointed  out  by  the  squaws,  before  the  men,  in  spite  of  the  efforts 
of  their  officers,  broke  ranks  and  with  wild  yells  rushed  for  their 
guns,  threatening  dire  vengeance  upon  Tolmie  and  his  squaws  if 
Lake  was  touched.  It  required  the  utmost  exertion  on  the  part 
of  the  officers  to  save  them  from  assault.  They  ran  for  dear  life 
to  the  Colonel's  tent,  imploring  his  protection.  The  officers  sur 
rounded  the  tent  and  kept  back  the  infuriated  mob  until  order 
was  somewhat  restored,  when  the  Doctor  agreed  that  if  the  men 
would  permit  him  and  his  squaws  to  escape  he  would  not  molest 
Lake  any  further.  A  way  was  opened  for  them,  through  which 
they  ran  to  their  horses,  quickly  mounted,  and  galloped  off,  no 
doubt  heartily  glad  to  get  away  with  their  scalps,  to  the  now  in 
finite  amusement  of  the  men.  No  more  was  heard  of  the  affair. 


SCENE  FOUR. 

Among  the  residents  in  my  neighborhood  was  a  much  re 
spected  farmer  named  Wm.  White,  whose  family,  with  others, 
were  forted  up  in  what  was  known  as  "  Eaton  Fort,"  on  Cham 
bers'  Prairie.  No  hostile  Indians  having  been  seen  or  heard  of  in 
that  neighborhood  for  a  long  time,  the  family  went,  on  Sunday, 
to  a  religious  meeting,  held  in  a  country  school  house  a  few  miles 
distant.  Mrs.  White  and  another  lady  named  Stewart,  with  a 
child  in  her  arms,  rode  in  a  small  one-horse  cart,  while  Mr.  White 
walked  and  drove.  On  their  return,  and  when  almost  within  sight 
of  the  fort,  a  party  of  six  Indians,  headed  by  "  Yelm  Jim,"  a  well- 
known  Indian  in  that  neighborhood,  rushed  out,  on  horseback, 
from  a  point  of  timber  near  the  road,  and  attacked  White.  An 
effort  was  made  to  get  hold  of  the  reins  of  White's  horse,  and  in 
the  scuffle  they  were  dropped.  A  shot  was  fired  at  White, 
wounding  him  severely,  but  he  still  continued  to  fight  his  assail 
ants  manfully,  until  overpowered  and  killed.  In  the  meantime 
the  horse,  taking  fright  at  the  shots  and  noise,  started  on  a  keen 
run  down  the  road  toward  the  fort.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
overtake  him,  but  he  was  too  fleet  for  the  savages'  ponies.  The 
women  clung  to  the  cart,  and  the  big  gate  being  open,  the  horse 
ran  straight  into  the  fort,  thus  saving  the  lives  of  the  two  women 
and  child;  but  the  mother  holding  the  child -in  her  arms  had  one 
foot  terribly  mangled  by  the  wheel  of  the  cart,  and  but  one  board 


19 

remained  of  the  cart-bed  when  they  reached  the  fort.  The  body 
of  Mr.  White  was  found  the  next  day,  by  a  relief  party,  near  the 
scene  of  attack,  stripped  and  horribly  cut  to  pieces.  Yelm  Jim 
was  afterward  caught  and  hung  for  this  deed.  Mrs.  White  is 
now  the  wife  of  Hon.  S.  D.  Ruddell,  of  Olympia. 

About  this  time,  or  perhaps  prior,  a  man  by  the  name  of 
North  craft,  engaged  in  hauling  supplies  from  Olympia  to  the 
Yelm  Prairie,  was  waylaid  on  the  road  about  half-way  between 
Chamber's  Prairie  and  the  Yelm,  the  savages  taking  him  from 
the  wagon,  after  he  was  wounded,  and  tying  him  to  a  tree,  amused 
themselves  by  shooting  arrows  into  him,  and  otherwise  torment 
ing  him  until  he  expired.  The  wagon  and  contents,  what  they 
could  not  carry  away  with  them,  was  destroyed. 


EXPLANATORY   AND   APOLOGETIC. 

The  foregoing  recollections  have  been  written  almost  wholly 
from  memory,  having  but  little  data  at  this  date  to  aid  or  refresh 
the  mind ;  but  many  of  the  scenes  and  incidents  are  almost  as 
vivid  to  me  now  as  at  the  time  of  their  occurrence,  thirty  years 
ago.  I  have  endeavored  to  confine  these  reminiscences,  as  much 
as  possible,  to  matters  in  which  I  took  part,  and  to  state  facts  only 
from  the  stand-point  in  which  I  then  viewed  them,  or  believed 
them  to  exist.  That  others  of  my  comrades  in  these  trying  times 
may  have  different  recollections  and  different  views  I  do  not 
doubt,  for  no  two,  perhaps,  had  exactly  the  same  experience.  In 
looking  over  the  field  at  this  distant  day,  and  viewing  the  won 
derful  changes  that  have  been  wrought  out  in  one  short  life-time  ; 
the  populous  and  wealthy  cities,  the  beautiful  farm-homes,  wide 
roads,  steamships,  telegraph  lines,  and  the  iron-horse  now  pene 
trating  the  same  dense  forests  and  shooting  across  the  same  cold 
rapid  streams,  where  I  then  wandered  and  waded,  I  am  often  lost 
in  wonder,  and  the  scenes  I  have  above  attempted  to  describe 
seem  but  as  a  dream.  More  alarm  was  felt  then,  no  doubt,  than 
there  was  real  cause  for,  but  we  were  isolated,  in  a  new,  wild  and 
rugged  country,  few  in  number,  and  poor  in  resources  of  defense. 
I  could  add  many  other  incidents— some  laughable,  some  pathetic, 
and  others  distressing — but  my  story  is  now  much  longer  than  I 
expected  to  make  it.  If  I  have  interested  the  reader  by  depicting 
some  of  the  labors,  trials,  hardships  and  dangers  encountered  by 
the  pioneers  of  the  northwest  coast,  my  purpose  has  been  accom 
plished.  And  what  shall  be  said  of  the  wives  and  mothers  of 
those  days,— of  the  anxieties,  self-denials,  privations,  doubts  and 
fears,  endured  and  heroically  sustained  ?  God  only  is  able  to  give 
the  reward. 

URBAN  EAST  HICKS. 

PORTLAND,  OREGON,  February  10,  1886. 


ADDENDA. 

Since  the  above  was  in  type,  a  friend  placed  in  my  hands  a 
book,  entitled  "Fifty  Years  Experience,"  etc.,  written  by  Brevt. 
Brig.  General  E.  D.  Keyes,  IT.  S.  A.,  in  which  I  find  that  I  was 
somewhat  mistaken  as  to  the  time  of  the  death  of  Lieutenant  W. 
A.  Slaughter.  He  was  killed,  according  to  Gen.  Keyes'  account, 
in  December,  1855.  But  I  still  stick  to  the  mule  part  of  the  story, 
and  the  further  fact  that  the  hostile  Indians,  west  of  the  moun 
tains,  never  got  their  final  defeat  until  they  received  it  at  the 
hands  of  the  volunteers  on  Council's  Prairie.  And  I  may  be 
permitted  to  add,  that  notwithstanding  the  open  jealousy  of  the 
the  regular  army  toward  volunteers,  I  honestly  believe  the  latter 
were  the  better  Indian  fighters.  But,  as  the  American  settlers 
will  never  again  witness  such  wars,  because  th-re  are  no  more 
Indians  to  kill,  we  will  drop  that  part  of  the  contro  /ersy.  Lieut, 
Slaughter  was  much  respected  by  his  comrades  in  the  regular 
army  and  very  popular  among  the  volunteers,  and  had  he  lived 
would  have  risen  to  high  rank  in  his  profession,  as  nearly  or  quite 
all  West  Pointers  did  who  visited  this  coast  in  an  early  day. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  above  reminiscences  are  confined  exclu 
sively  to  the  section  of  country  between  Puget  Sound  and  the 
Cascade  Mountains.  What  took  place  in  Eastern  Washington, 
or  in  Oregon,  I  have  not  attempted  to  more  than  touch  upon,  as 
I  knew  but  little  of  the  scenes  in  those  fields. 


The  following  short  biographical  sketch  of  the  writer  is  taken 
from  "  Lang's  History  of  the  Willamette  Valley  "  : 

HICKS,  URBAN  E. — Born  in  Boone  County,  Missouri,  May  14,  1828  ; 
served  five  years'  apprenticeship  at  the  punters'  trade  in  Paris,  Monroe  County, 
and  at  Hannibal,  on  the  Mississippi  river.  Married  Miss  Eliza  Jane  Leedom, 
in  1850,  in  Schuyler  County  ;  went  to  St.  Louis,  and  in  the  spring  of  1851, 
set  out  for  Oregon,  overland.  Settled  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cowlitz  river  'r 
taught  school,  and  In  1852,  came  to  Portland;  worked  a  short  time  at  his 
trade  ;  located  on  a  claim  three  miles  east  of  East  Portland  ;  moved  to  Salt 
Creek,  Polk  County,  and  from  there  to  Puget  Sound,  in  1853,  where  his  wife 
died,  leaving  one  son — Dr.  Frank  P.,  of  Astoria  [now  of  Tacoma].  Married 
Miss  India  Ann  Hartsock,  in  1855,  bv  whom  he  has  one  son  living— G.  Gwinr 
[also  of  Tacoma].  Took  part  in  the  Indian  war  of  1855-6,  going  out  as  first 
lieutenant,  and  afterwards  promoted  to  captain ;  was  assessor  and  county 
clerk  of  Thurston  County,  and  assistant  secretary  of  the  first  Territorial 
Council  of  Washington  Territory ;  was  at  different  times  elected  by  the  legis 
lature,  Territorial  Librarian,  Territorial  Auditor,  and  Quartermaster  General  ; 
was  also  deputy  U.  S.  Marshal,  Notary  Public,  etc.  Mr.  Hicks  has  had  a 
varied  experience  in  the  newspaper  business.  In  1861-62  he  published  the 
Vancouver  Telegraph;  in  1864-65,  published  the  Washington  Democrat,  at 
Olympia  ;  moved  his  plant  to  Salem,  Oregon,  in  1865-66,  and  in  connection 
with  A.  Noltner  and  C.  B.  Bellinger,  published  the  Democratic  Review ;  went 
to  Portland  and  was  city  editor  of  the  Daily  Oregon  Herald;  started  the  East 
Portland  Democratic  Era,  in  1871  ;  and  in  1874  was  engaged  as  editor  of  the 
Vancouver  Register.  He  now  resides  in  Portland. 


